Posted on 02/14/2015 5:52:48 AM PST by csvset
NORFOLK
For the second time, a jury was unable to decide whether Bernell Benn was justified in killing Ramon Colorado in a Norfolk drugstore in 2012.
Chief Circuit Judge Karen Burrell declared a mistrial Friday after jurors said they were deadlocked.
Benn faced charges of voluntary manslaughter and illegally discharging a firearm in an occupied building.
The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is evaluating its options, spokeswoman Amanda Howie said.
A trial in February 2013 also ended with a hung jury. This week, a new set of jurors listened to testimony, watched video of the shooting and was unable to reach a verdict.
Benn's lawyer, John Levin, and prosecutor Patricia O'Boyle agreed on many facts of the case.
On Aug. 16, 2012, Benn walked into the Rite Aid on the 3600 block of Tidewater Drive to get a prescription blood pressure medication. He was talking loudly and profanely on a cellphone and pacing near the pharmacist's counter, witnesses testified. Colorado entered the pharmacy and got in line behind a woman at the counter.
Colorado, a former Norfolk sheriff's deputy and auxiliary deputy in Chesapeake, hadn't worked since 2008. He came to Rite Aid to get a prescription for Buspirone, which he used to treat bipolar disorder.
When Benn saw Colorado, he stopped pacing. He tapped the smaller Colorado on the shoulder and said he was in line.
Colorado gestured at the spot in front of him. A surveillance video shows the two men talking. Colorado pulled out a can of pepper spray and doused Benn's face.
Benn ran down the cooler aisle, the video shows, as Colorado ran down the next aisle.
As he testified Thursday,
Benn waved his arms, crouched and moved about excitedly.
"There were razors in my eyes, snot coming out of my nose, gasping for air," Benn said, describing getting hit with the pepper spray.
As he ran away, he said, Colorado told him, "I got more for you, bro."
Benn buried his face in his hands as he testified near the witness stand, acting out his reaction.
"I slip out my weapon because I'm blind, I can't see. I'm scared for my life. Ain't nobody helping me," he said.
O'Boyle and Levin disagreed on what the video showed next.
The two men went in and out of the camera's view as they ran down parallel aisles away from the pharmacy counter.
Both men carried guns. Benn had a concealed handgun permit for his; Colorado did not.
Levin argued that Benn was shot in the back by Colorado as they scurried down the aisles. O'Boyle said Benn could have headed for an exit, but instead chased Colorado.
The video showed Benn shoot Colorado when they met again close to the pharmacy. The video did not clearly show Colorado shoot Benn.
Heidi Murphy, the woman who had been standing in line ahead of Colorado when the argument started, said Benn had been standing behind her talking and cursing loudly.
"This is how my day is going. This white man cut me off in line," Murphy testified that Benn said.
As the two men argued, she said, an employee helped her behind a counter. They crouched down and held each other.
"My mother had died on that day," she said. "I thought I was going to die, too."
In her closing statement, O'Boyle said the case boiled down to one question - did Benn need to kill Colorado to save his own life?
"These are two people who have a tendency to be in volatile situations from time to time. It escalates," she said, picking up one of the two guns involved. "Maybe many years ago, if there weren't so many of these around, that's all it would have been, a fight."
Levin argued that Benn had no choice but to shoot.
"At that point, his disease kicks in," Levin said of Colorado. "The bipolar that he suffers from takes over. The shame of it all is that he was a sick man who didn't get the help he needed."
Gary Harki, 757-446-2370, gary.harki@pilotonline.com
Ramon Colorado
In her closing statement, O'Boyle said the case boiled down to one question - did Benn need to kill Colorado to save his own life?
Well gee Counselor, let's see; the guy has already peppered sprayed and shot the man, so I'd say yes; he did have to shoot the crazy bastard.
That's not the proper legal question. It's quite possible that Benn could have just taken a couple more shots of pepper spray in the eyes and a few more bullets to non-vital organs, and Colorado would have stopped, maybe, or maybe not. But should he have to bet his life on the good will of a crazy person? A reasonable person who has been attacked with pepper spray and then shot, who is impaired in both vision and mobility because of those attacks, would have a justifiable fear for his life. The threat was imminent - in fact immediate. A reasonable man would acknowledge that threat. The response - shooting back - was entirely proportional to the threat, and retreat was not a clear alternative given the relentless pursuit and injuries already inflicted.
This seems pretty open-and-shut to me.
I note the constant “blame it on the GUN” theme though—it sounds to me as if the prosecution is going full-bore leftist Bloomberg for his shot at the “win”.
Buncha leftist jurors, I suspect as well.
We knew all along that it was the gun’s fault.
Good shoot. Give the man his gun and permit. Drop all charges.
Charges dropped against man in fatal Rite Aid shooting
By Gary A. Harki The Virginian-Pilot © April 16, 2015
NORFOLK
Prosecutors will not seek a third trial of Bernell Benn, whose two previous trials for a 2012 fatal shooting in a Norfolk drug store ended in hung juries.
Charges against Benn have been dropped, said Amanda Howie, spokeswoman for Commonwealth’s Attorney Greg Underwood.
“While both juries indicated the majority of jurors wanted to convict, a unanimous decision is what’s required,” Howie said in a statement. “Respect for their service and careful consideration of several other factors led this Office to conclude a third trial would likely not produce a different outcome. We certainly still believe in our work on this case and understand this decision is difficult for the victim’s family.”
Ramon Colorado, a former Norfolk sheriff’s deputy and auxiliary deputy in Chesapeake, was killed. His widow, Cheryl, could not be reached.
Benn said Wednesday that he looked forward to moving on with his life and resuming classes in long-distance truck driver school at Tidewater Community College.
“I just give glory to God, and I’m glad it’s over with,” he said. “My mama can sleep, and now I can sleep.”
Benn’s lawyer, John Levin, said he had not expected that outcome when he came to court Tuesday.
“It’s been a long road, and it’s been a lot on Bernell, for the defense. Clearly as much for the commonwealth and the victim’s family,” he said. “We’re happy it’s over.”
Benn was tried in February on charges of voluntary manslaughter and illegally discharging a firearm in an occupied building.
A trial in February 2013 also ended with a hung jury.
On Aug. 16, 2012, Benn went to the Rite Aid on the 3600 block of Tidewater Drive to get a prescription blood pressure medication. He was talking loudly and profanely on a cellphone and pacing near the pharmacist’s counter, witnesses testified. Colorado entered the pharmacy and got in line behind a woman at the counter.
Colorado had come to Rite Aid to get a prescription for Buspirone, which he used to treat bipolar disorder.
When Benn saw Colorado, he stopped pacing. He tapped the smaller Colorado on the shoulder and said he was in line.
Colorado gestured at the spot in front of him. A surveillance video shows the two men talking. Colorado pulled out a can of pepper spray and doused Benn’s face.
“I slip out my weapon because I’m blind, I can’t see. I’m scared for my life. Ain’t nobody helping me,” Benn testified in February.
Both men carried guns. Benn had a concealed handgun permit for his; Colorado did not.
The video showed Benn shoot Colorado when they met again close to the pharmacy. The video did not clearly show Colorado shoot Benn.
In interviews earlier this year, members of both juries said they carefully read the jury instructions and tried to apply the law to the events they saw on the video.
“They can try this case a couple more times, but they’re always going to get the same result,” said Allison Dunleavy, a juror who voted to acquit Benn during his first trial. “Some people see it as self-defense, and there are some who are just going to have a hard time letting someone who shot and killed someone else go.”
Gary Harki, 757-446-2370, gary.harki@pilotonline.com
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